Cipro can be either injected subcutaneously, given by IV, or taken orally. Do not take with food. Drink lots of water while on this medication.

Potential Side-Effects:

List here. Some people experience constipation while taking this medication. Taking this medication while immunosuppressed also opens you up to infections and you must keep an eye out for them. For women: watch out for yeast infections and get an anti-fungal as soon as possible if you do.

So, the main post for this support group is obviously still a work in progress, but I think it's a good idea to get an antibiotic support group going!

I think my worst antibiotic experience was with Cipro and Flagyl, from when I was first dealing with my fistula. I think I was luckier than most people with them, but man, those antibiotics were terrible. I got a bunch of infections while on them, which was super frustrating when all I wanted to do was get better, not get more bogged down. They definitely did wonders for my fistula, though.

Augmentin Duo Forte was a 3 month stint due to an intra abdominal abscess. He was on it pre operatively to keep the abscess at bay, he also had a pigtail drain in for the same length of time. He did not appear to have any side effects from this antibiotic and it did do its job well as evidenced by no further issues with the abscess.

Flagyl was a 6 month course, 3 months pre op at 400mg three times a day and 3 months post op at 200mg three times a day. Pre op was a treatment for the flare and I have to assume that along with his other meds kept his stable. The 3 months post op was due to the Crohn’s specialists belief in the studies that show 3 months of Flagyl post op increases the chances of maintaining a longer remission. Matt has been in remission since his surgery 3 years ago but then my daughter has also been in remission since her surgery nearly 8 years ago and she did not have the Flagyl therapy. So who knows!

Matt did not appear to have any adverse effects from the Flagyl either. He did much prefer the brand Flagyl over the generic Metronidazole due to finish of the tablets and he did not complain of the taste side effects that many people experience.

That's great that he had such a good experience with the Augmentin Duo Forte!

And that's wonderful that both of your kids are in remission. It's always nice to hear.

And now I'm wondering if I ended up getting the generic Flagyl back then, too! I remember they had the most awful taste to them at 250mg. I remember asking my GI if I could be bumped back up to 500mg purely so I didn't have to deal with it anymore. (Although he said no, anyway, haha.)

Has anyone here had experience being on antibiotics while on a biologic? I remember when I first started Remicade, I was terrified of going on antibiotics at the same time and thought I would need to miss infusions if I was on them.

But instead, I never encountered any problems being on them simultaneously. In fact, when I developed my fistula I was supposed to be on antibiotics while using a biologic. So where does the idea that we're not supposed to use them at the same time come from?

Part of me wonders how much of a difference the antibiotics made with treating my fistula. I think it definitely helped at first, but once I got taken off of them in December I really didn't notice any transition at all, which makes me think it may have been all my Humira, instead. Especially since I found -- comparatively -- that Remicade stopped making any difference at all re: drainage within a few infusions.

Soon starting Isoniazid(INH) for treatment of latent TB. Tuberculin Skin Test(TST) resulted in an induration of 22 mm. Understand from my review of Humira that latent TB should be treated prior to starting a biologic. Interesting, though, my Infectious Disease Specialist indicates that his algorithm calculated only a 2% risk for me developing TB while on Humira.
He wasn't strongly recommending INH treatment. I indicated I would prefer to accept the risks of INH versus the risk of untreated latent TB while on Humira.

I was recently prescribed a combination of Ciprofloxacin & Metronidazole both at 1000mg a day for a combined daily cocktail of 2000mg. These were prescribed for my third perianal abscess since 2012. The challenge was this perianal abscess would not present. It remained dormant for a few months. I think the existing setons in the anal canal from two other previous abscesses and now double tract fistulas were perhaps alleviating some drainage from the new abscess via a new sinus tract. The GI prescribed CiproMetro for a 14 day course to try to attempt to resolve the abscess. Another 14 day course was prescribed when the abscess failed to present. I did not continue with the back to back additional 14 day course. The abscess did ultimately present & I had an Incision and Drainage at Emergency about 5 weeks ago.

The CiproMetro at 1000 mg daily each caused nausea, diarrhea and loss of appetite. I found them challenging for 14 days. I was prescribed a smaller dosage of the Metro with an increased frequency this did seem to alleviate some of the nausea but not diarrhea.

I was recently prescribed a combination of Ciprofloxacin & Metronidazole both at 1000mg a day for a combined daily cocktail of 2000mg. These were prescribed for my third perianal abscess since 2012. The challenge was this perianal abscess would not present. It remained dormant for a few months. I think the existing setons in the anal canal from two other previous abscesses and now double tract fistulas were perhaps alleviating some drainage from the new abscess via a new sinus tract. The GI prescribed CiproMetro for a 14 day course to try to attempt to resolve the abscess. Another 14 day course was prescribed when the abscess failed to present. I did not continue with the back to back additional 14 day course. The abscess did ultimately present & I had an Incision and Drainage at Emergency about 5 weeks ago.

The CiproMetro at 1000 mg daily each caused nausea, diarrhea and loss of appetite. I found them challenging for 14 days. I was prescribed a smaller dosage of the Metro with an increased frequency this did seem to alleviate some of the nausea but not diarrhea.

I had the same amount of Cipro/Flagyl (Metro is commonly referred to as Flagyl) prescribed. For me it just ended up causing really bad nausea... but only if I took it after I first woke up. I found that taking it at night was usually fine because I had already eaten and had something in my stomach. But when I took it earlier I had to take zantac or an anti-emetic beforehand, otherwise I would just end up getting sick.

Flagyl can cause diarrhea in a lot of people, with Cipro tending to cause constipation. So it's not surprising that was an issue for you.

Thanks for starting this thread. Someone mentioned antibiotics WITH biologics. I'll have my 3rd remicade infusion next week and have not gotten much better (maybe just a touch better). My doctor has not even mentioned the idea of adding an antibiotic to treat my UC. At what point do I bring that up to him as an option if the remicade continues not to work..? Any thoughts?

I got peripheral neuropathy from Flagyl 3 years ago. My feet are still numb and tingly. The docs say it may eventually wear off by itself. At least my fingers got better. I'm still on Cipro 3 1/2 years later. Hopefully if Remi does the trick, I'll be able to get off the rest of my meds.

Thanks for starting this thread. Someone mentioned antibiotics WITH biologics. I'll have my 3rd remicade infusion next week and have not gotten much better (maybe just a touch better). My doctor has not even mentioned the idea of adding an antibiotic to treat my UC. At what point do I bring that up to him as an option if the remicade continues not to work..? Any thoughts?

I've heard of people going on Cipro/Flagyl to treat it, but otherwise I think I would consider an immunosuppressant + biologic combination first. I was on Imuran/Remicade and Imuran/Humira. If you brought that up, you could also ask your GI about an antibiotic + biologic combination, too, and see what they say.

I got peripheral neuropathy from Flagyl 3 years ago. My feet are still numb and tingly. The docs say it may eventually wear off by itself. At least my fingers got better. I'm still on Cipro 3 1/2 years later. Hopefully if Remi does the trick, I'll be able to get off the rest of my meds.

I really hope Remicade helps! I remember hearing about those potential side-effects with I was on Cipro/Flagyl. I hope that you recover in your feet, too.

Just realized that I was tagged in this post; sorry, I'm still getting the hang of this forum! I take Xifaxan daily every other week for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. It has been beneficial, but I still have symptoms. The downside, of course, is that I have to keep taking it all the time or the bacterial overgrowth will get out of hand again. I'm not familiar with Xifaxan's use in anything other than SIBO; is that why you were considering taking it?

Being sick the entire month of August, I have now been on four antibiotics while on Humira. I was first taking amoxicillin. Then, Cipro/Flagyl combo for my recent problems, as well as rocephen (sp) for the kidney stone & UTI. Took another Humira injection today...is there a specific reason antibiotics shouldn't be taken while on Humira???

Hi guys I'm on metronidazole for 3 months my GI us using it to treat the Crohn's I had a small bowel resection they took the end of my colon and I had a wedge resection of meckels diviticulum that was nearly 4 weeks ago I'm going in to azatriapane when I see my GI in march

Thanks for starting this thread. Someone mentioned antibiotics WITH biologics. I'll have my 3rd remicade infusion next week and have not gotten much better (maybe just a touch better). My doctor has not even mentioned the idea of adding an antibiotic to treat my UC. At what point do I bring that up to him as an option if the remicade continues not to work..? Any thoughts?

If you see other Crohn's patients having success with a medication, yes, definitely discuss it with your doctor. If they disregard it, consider getting other opinions. My 25 year old son passed away this fall from complications due to Crohn's. His doctor sent him to the lead Gastro specialist in Portland Oregon.Today they are changing their early intervention practice due to the death of my son. Your doing the right thing by reading this forum. I hope the remicade is working for you now and your doing better. Hugs

I'm currently taking Metronidazole 500s and I've got the nasty taste side effect, and Jolly Rancher candies are pretty much the bees knees right now. They're also relatively low in sugar for being so potent. I just thought I'd share this~

I'm currently taking Metronidazole 500s and I've got the nasty taste side effect, and Jolly Rancher candies are pretty much the bees knees right now. They're also relatively low in sugar for being so potent. I just thought I'd share this~

Well, I'm not sure. This is my first time with it, but I do have change in taste and a coating on my tongue, but I'm not sure if that fits the bill. The coating is a light brownish colour; I thought it might just be a sign of ama due to the dramatic change in my diet (I was living on mostly rice, legumes/lentils, and cooked greens for a while now).
But if it is thrush, it sounds like eating Jolly Ranchers is probably just going to make it worse because it's high in sugar, right?

Hi. I've taken rifaxamin and it really does work wonders. I've taken 3 two week courses of it over the past year. The problem is the gas and bloating comes back after you stop taking it. But it's not as harmful to take as flagyl or cipro.